College basketball fans no longer can lay claim to the only Sweet 16. Thanks to Harvard 
University’s Lead for Literacy Initiative, early literacy development teachers and administrators can access 16 one-page memos written specifically for leaders committed to children’s literacy development. This “Sweet 16” for early literacy and language development includes:
The Prevention Plan
- Program Design for Impact
- Early Identification and Intervention Practices
Literacy and Leadership
- What Leaders Need to Know and Do
- Literacy Unpacked: What Do We Mean by Literacy Rates?
Literacy Assessment
- The Importance of Early Literacy Assessment
- Comprehensive Assessment: Towards a More Complete Picture of Literacy
- Comprehensive Assessment: Making Sense of Test Type and Purpose
Professional Development
- Designing Professional Development for Instructional Change
- Implementing Professional Development for Instructional Change
Family Partnerships
- Designing Family Partnerships That Make a Difference
- Implementing Family Partnerships That Make a Difference
Volunteer Programs
- Designing a Volunteer Program Focused on Literacy
- Implementing a Volunteer Program Focused on Literacy
Literacy Curricula
- The Importance of Using a Literacy Curriculum
- Selecting a Comprehensive Literacy Curriculum
- Implementing a Comprehensive Literacy Curriculum
Each memo includes common pitfalls that early literacy educators and administrators encounter along with key research-based strategies to address these challenges. You can read the Lead for Literacy memos here. The last three memos are scheduled for release this Friday.
Early literacy development and music
At ABC Music & Me, we continue to implement the latest research on how to best engage young children and families in early literacy development. Our research-based early literacy curriculum uses music to help children build early literacy and language skills. Music can help children hear speech sounds and naturally divide words into sounds. Plus, early language development research indicates that music skills correlate significantly with both phonemic awareness and reading development.